Lost River - Karst Information Portal

The Convention Planning staff is pleased
to have the opportunity to offer a wide
variety of scenic and recreational attractions
to the attendees of the 2007 NSS National
Convention. Quite a few of these attractions
can be visited or seen in conjunction with trips
to visit caves featured in this guidebook. Or
Crawford County offers a lot of fine scenery
and many of the roads have overlooks.
There are quite a few attractions to be seen in
Crawford County.
The Harrison Crawford State Forest is a
25,000+ acre property located on the edge of
Crawford and Harrison counties that contains
hundreds of Indiana’s finer caves. Access is from
State Road 62 and State Road 462. The latter
road leads to the entrance of O’Bannon Woods
State Park, a 2,400-acre park in the middle
of the Harrison Crawford State Forest. There
are three campgrounds in the complex ranging
from primitive and horse camping to a 281-site
campground that accommodates RV camping.
This complex is bounded by the Ohio and
Blue rivers as well as Indian Creek and offers
the 24-mile Adventure Hiking Trail as well as
numerous day trails. There are also over 100
miles of horse trails. A brand-new, Olympicsize
swimming pool should be finished in time
for the convention. The “main” areas of the
Harrison Crawford State Forest are located
only 15 to 20 minutes from the convention
site.
Wyandotte Caves are located 20 minutes
from the convention site. They are owned by
the state of Indiana and managed by Marengo
Cave. Wyandotte is famous for being a show
cave since the 1850s and has very large rooms
and passages on its 1½-hour tour. It is well worth
a visit. Little Wyandotte Cave has a beautifully
decorated 30-minute tour. Cave tours will be
Scenic Diversions
By Dan McDowell, updated by Aaron Atz and Kent Wilson
Crawford County
perhaps you may want to set aside a day or two
for some specific trips or activities. We invite
you to take a few minutes to check out the large
variety of leisure activities available to you in
southern Indiana. The information included in
the registration packets will list many of these
public attractions.
half-price with your convention ID badge.
Marengo Cave Park is just off State Road
64 in Marengo in Crawford County, just
4 miles north of the convention site. Two
different tours are offered: the Crystal Palace
and the Dripstone Trail. You must be at the
cave by 2:00 p.m. to make both tours. Marengo
Cave also offers a snack bar, a gift shop, and a
nature trail. Cave tours will be half-price with
your convention ID badge.
Cave Country Canoes is a canoe livery
service in Milltown, on the beautiful Blue River,
4 miles east of Marengo. Canoeing on the Blue
River is a very popular pastime. A number of
caves can be seen in conjunction with certain
canoe trips.
The Blue River Café is located in Milltown
just a stone’s throw from Cave Country Canoes.
Gourmet food and impressive drink lists go
nicely with their live music on weekends.
Stephenson’s General Store is located
in Leavenworth, about 9 miles south of the
convention site. In addition to groceries and
traditional country-style food items, the store
sells and displays many unique antiques. Don’t
forget to visit the basement.
Hemlock Cliffs, 3 miles south of Mifflin,
is a part of the Hoosier National Forest. High
sandstone cliffs and numerous shelter caves
are prominent features of this scenic area.
Hemlock Caverns is a large sandstone shelter
that was an early American Indian occupation
site. The floor of the valley has a noteworthy
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